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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23829727">The Vet</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddiegays/pseuds/reddiegays'>reddiegays</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Babysitting, Bad Flirting, Cats, Crush at First Sight, M/M, Meet-Cute, Richie Tozier is a Mess, Verinarian Eddie Kaspbrak, Veterinary Clinic, it's stan's cat. richie's babysitting stan's kid, stan knows what's up and he doesn't even appear, the cat is called shrek</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:15:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,091</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23829727</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddiegays/pseuds/reddiegays</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Eddie Kaspbrak is a veterinarian. Richie Tozier has a problem with a cat. What could possibly happen?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>114</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Vet</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eddie Kaspbrak quite liked his job of small town veterinarian, mostly because his patients never complained. Their owners, though, could be right assholes sometimes. Whilst he appreciated their concern for their pets, he would prefer they just let him get on with it. So far today, he’d seen a Poodle with an ear infection, easily treated with a course of ear drops, a Burmese with diabetes, which he advised the overly-defensive owner on the best dietary measures to take, and a Great Dane with a broken leg.</p><p>Eddie had just finished washing his hands after treating a Siamese for fleas when his surgery door flew open, a rather frantic man rushing in carrying a cat basket in one hand and a small child under his other arm. He stood tall and wore large framed glasses in front of his startling eyes. His hair was messy and his shirt was loud, yet it somehow suited him. Before Eddie could even get a word out, the tall man was speaking quickly.</p><p>“Hey, um, I sort of dropped my friend’s cat in paint and I kinda panicked so now I’m here.”</p><p>Eddie blinked, quickly slipping into doctor mode as he nodded; he cleared a space at his desk and rummaged in his drawers, removing colouring pencils and a book. The child beamed and made grabby hands towards the items. The stranger smiled gratefully, depositing the child into the chair.</p><p>“Thanks.”</p><p>"No, problem, Mr…?”</p><p>“Richie. Richie Tozier,” he shook the not-bad-looking-at-all vet’s hand, subtly looking him up and down. Nice.</p><p>“Okay, Richie, not to worry,” Eddie snapped on a pair of gloves, stepping behind his examination table, “if you just pop the patient on the table, I’ll have a look.”</p><p>Richie nodded and placed the carrier on the table, reaching inside and removing a very bad-tempered, violently hissing cat. The poor creature was dripping with drying purple paint, splattered in places with gold, red and green. Eddie wanted to ask what the fuck happened but he was a professional. Richie cleared his throat.</p><p>“I am quite responsible, really. I mean, Daniel’s alright, aren’t you, kid?” The little boy sitting at Eddie’s desk looked up at his name and copied Richie’s thumbs up, smirking. Eddie smiled, pulling his stethoscope from around his shoulders.</p><p>“I’m sure you are,” he listened to the cat’s heart, checked his eyes, ears and mouth. Everything seemed to be okay with the cat’s general health, he hadn’t appeared to have swallowed any of the paint which was a good sign. He gently tickled the cat’s fur, “so, what’s this one’s name, then?”</p><p>Richie paused for a moment, shuffling his feet, “Shrek.”</p><p>Eddie stifled a laugh as he calmly carried Shrek over to the large sink which had a large shower head attached. He set the temperature and tested it before slowly introducing the warm water to Shrek’s fur. The cat wasn’t particularly thrilled about the prospect of a bath but he allowed Eddie to brush through his fur, washing away the paint. Soon, he was purring and relaxing under the spray of the water and Eddie’s tender touch. He wrapped the cat in a towel and gently caressed the top of his head.</p><p>“He should be okay, I don’t think the paint stained but he might need another bath just to be on the safe side,” he handed over the swaddled cat and, as a courtesy, began cleaning the cat carrier, “but if there’s any changes or you’re worried about him, bring him back and I’ll be happy to look at him. You can keep the towel.”</p><p>Richie didn’t reply, instead staring at his saviour, his knight in shining lab coat, his prince, his hero. Eddie returned the carrier and ushered Shrek inside, smiling at the happily cocooned, what he now recognised as an American Shorthair, cat. What he hadn’t expected was for Richie to hug him, full bodied and grateful.</p><p>“You’ve saved my life, Doc. Stan was literally gonna kill me,” he waved at Daniel behind Eddie’s back, “come on, you. We better get you back home before I add kidnapping to my list of crimes.”</p><p>Daniel hopped down from the chair, bringing his picture for Mommy and Daddy with him. He high-fived the nice vet, giggling at his Uncle Richie as he picked him up. Richie paid the vet fee and the two were off with Shrek. Eddie sort of missed them already.</p>
<hr/><p>It was almost a week before Eddie saw Richie again. He came in almost first thing, as soon as Eddie had entered his office to change into his lab coat. He heard a knock on his door and instructed them to come in, expecting Nancy, the receptionist. Instead, Richie was standing there, holding a huge and no doubt expensive bouquet of flowers.</p><p>“From Shrek,” he explained with a blush on his face. Eddie smiled genuinely as he took the bouquet, smelling it appreciatively, “a thank you.”</p><p>“Oh, well, he shouldn’t have, I was just doing my job,” he replied playfully, placing the flowers in his office sink and running the water, filling the bottom, “how is Shrek doing.”</p><p>“Oh, he’s better than ever, thanks to you,” he was wringing his hands nervously, deliberately avoiding looking at the fit vet. Eddie didn’t want to be rude but he had patients, the first would be arriving any minute. Richie still hesitated, bouncing on the balls of his feet, “so, Stan, my friend, Danny’s Dad, he found out…”</p><p>“Oh, right,” Eddie answered, wondering where the fuck he was going with this, “um, how?”</p><p>“Dan ratted me out,” Richie shrugged, a goofy smile on his face even if he still focused on the ground. He swallowed, using every ounce of his courage to finally look up at him, “I’m off the hook if I…ask you out.”</p><p>Eddie was taken aback, if he was honest. What a guy like Richie, charming, unpredictable and completely hilarious, was doing interested in someone like Eddie, he had no idea. He wasn’t about to question it, either. Just enjoy it.</p><p>“Yeah. I’d love to get to know you better,” Eddie shrugged on his lab coat, adjusting his badge into position, “if just to find out what you did to poor Shrek.”</p><p>Richie was so overjoyed, he stepped forward and boldly kissed Eddie’s lips oh-so briefly, pulling away almost immediately, “it’s a date. After your shift?”</p><p>Eddie nodded, too dumbstruck and blushing profusely to do anymore than that. As soon as the door shut behind Richie, Eddie couldn’t contain the smile from spreading across his face.</p>
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